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InterServer vs Bluehost – “The Winner Is …”
InterServer and Bluehost are popular web hosting providers offering shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting. InterServer, founded in 1999, focuses on affordability with a price-lock guarantee, while Bluehost, established in 2003, is known for user-friendly features and WordPress integration. Both cater to small businesses and growing websites, with distinct strengths.
InterServer offers unlimited storage, bandwidth, and free migrations, making it ideal for budget-conscious users. Bluehost, a WordPress-recommended host, provides a free domain for the first year, a custom control panel, and scalable plans, focusing on reliability and ease of use for long-term growth.
InterServer’s flat monthly pricing starts at $2.50, with 24/7 support, though response times vary. Bluehost’s shared hosting starts at $2.95 (promo) with annual discounts, though renewals are pricier. Bluehost is praised for its support and user experience, while InterServer excels in affordability and flexibility.
InterServer
Performance: |5.0| 
InterServer delivers solid performance with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and servers optimized for speed. Its use of SSD storage, global content caching, and customizable VPS options ensures reliable performance for various website needs. While it’s not as focused on high-traffic scalability as some competitors, its stability and unlimited resources make it a dependable option for small to medium websites.
Uptime: |4.9|
InterServer guarantees 99.9% uptime, ensuring steady reliability for most websites. Its data centers are equipped with redundancy systems, including power backups and cooling, to minimize downtime. While generally dependable, some users note occasional minor disruptions during peak traffic.
Customer Service: |4.8|
InterServer provides 24/7 customer support through live chat, phone, and email. Its team is knowledgeable and helpful, but response times can vary during high-demand periods. The company also offers free website migration services, which is a significant benefit for new users switching hosts.
Bluehost
Performance: |4.8|
Bluehost, recommended by WordPress, offers excellent performance with a focus on scalability. Its servers are optimized for WordPress, featuring SSD storage, a global CDN, and advanced caching for faster load times. With consistent uptime and enhanced security features, Bluehost is better suited for sites expecting growth and higher traffic levels.
Uptime: |4.9|
Bluehost offers strong uptime performance, consistently delivering over 99.9% reliability. Its infrastructure includes modern server technology and proactive monitoring to ensure minimal downtime. Bluehost’s focus on stability makes it a better choice for businesses needing uninterrupted website availability.
Customer Service: |4.7|
Bluehost is known for its robust customer service, offering 24/7 support via live chat and phone. It features an extensive knowledge base and specialized WordPress assistance, catering well to beginners and small businesses. Many users praise Bluehost for its quick response times and helpful support team.
Overall Comparison InterServer vs Bluehost
Many reviewers praise Bluehost as one of the top hosting providers in the industry, but what’s often overlooked is that Bluehost offers significant incentives to reviewers to attract new customers.
After thoroughly researching and testing both Bluehost and InterServer, I can provide an unbiased, expert analysis. From pricing and features to performance and security, InterServer consistently outperforms Bluehost in every category. In contrast, Bluehost delivers an average experience at best.
Keep reading to discover why InterServer is the clear winner in this comparison.
| Aspect | InterServer | Bluehost |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 | 2003 |
| Focus | Affordability and flexibility | Beginner-friendly features and WordPress integration |
| Target Audience | Small businesses, bloggers, cost-conscious users | Beginners, small businesses, and WordPress users |
| Price Range | Starts at $2.50/month (flat pricing) | Starts at $2.95/month (promotional pricing) |
| Special Features | Price-lock guarantee, free migrations, customizable VPS | Official WordPress recommendation, free domain |
1. Plans and Pricing
Bluehost May Appear Cheaper but Could Cost You More in the Long Run
Both Bluehost and InterServer offer a range of hosting packages, such as dedicated servers, VPS, and shared hosting. However, when it comes to shared hosting, InterServer is not only more affordable but also offers better value for your money.
InterServer’s shared hosting plan is budget-friendly and packed with features. It offers unlimited storage, bandwidth, email accounts, and support for hosting an unlimited number of websites and databases. Additionally, it comes with a robust set of performance and security tools, which I’ll delve into further below.
Bluehost, by comparison, offers four shared hosting plans. Its cheapest plan includes 10GB of storage, 20 databases, five email accounts, and support for hosting only one website. Despite its limitations, Bluehost’s Basic plan is slightly more expensive than InterServer’s Standard Web Hosting plan.
To get Bluehost’s Basic plan at the advertised price, you’ll need to commit to a three-year payment upfront. Selecting a yearly billing cycle almost doubles the price In contrast, InterServer maintains the same low introductory price regardless of your chosen billing term, offering greater flexibility and value.
| Plan Type | InterServer | Bluehost |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Hosting | Starts at $2.50/month (flat pricing) | Starts at $2.95/month (promo, renewals higher) |
| WordPress Hosting | Included with shared hosting | Starts at $2.95/month (promo, renewals higher) |
| VPS Hosting | Starts at $6/month (customizable plans) | Starts at $19.99/month |
| Dedicated Hosting | Starts at $44/month (customizable servers) | Starts at $79.99/month |
| Add-ons | Many features included, minimal extra costs | Some add-ons (e.g., migrations) may incur fees |
InterServer stands out with more flexible payment options, offering one-month, three-month, six-month, and yearly billing cycles, whereas Bluehost does not provide monthly shared hosting plans.
Both providers renew their shared hosting plans at about three times the introductory rate. However, since InterServer starts at a lower price, it remains the more cost-effective option even after renewal.
The difference becomes even more significant with VPS hosting. Bluehost’s Standard VPS plan includes 2 virtual CPU cores, 30GB of storage, and 2GB of RAM. For the same price, InterServer offers nearly three times these resources, along with premium configurations that deliver far more power and capacity than Bluehost.
When it comes to dedicated servers, InterServer again takes the lead, offering more options at roughly half the cost of Bluehost.
Overall, InterServer is both more flexible in its plans and significantly more cost-effective.
Hosting management
InterServer Hosting Management:
Control Panel: Uses standard cPanel for easy management of websites, emails, and databases.
Customization: Offers flexible VPS and dedicated hosting with customizable options to suit various needs.
Website Migration: Provides free website migration for new customers.
Backup Options: Includes daily backups with all plans to ensure data security.
Resource Management: Flexible resource allocation on VPS and dedicated hosting, allowing users to scale as needed.
Support: 24/7 customer support through chat, phone, and email, but response times can vary.
Bluehost Hosting Management:
Control Panel: Uses a custom control panel along with cPanel for shared hosting, making it user-friendly for beginners.
WordPress Integration: Optimized for WordPress, with easy one-click installations and automated updates.
Website Migration: Free migration for WordPress sites, but paid services for other types of websites.
Backup Options: Includes automatic backups on higher-tier plans; lower plans may require manual backups or paid options.
Resource Management: Strong focus on scalability, with pre-configured VPS and dedicated hosting plans that can be upgraded easily.
Support: 24/7 live chat and phone support with a reputation for quick response times and knowledgeable assistance.
2. Features
InterServer Offers More Free Features, While Bluehost Charges Extra
While we’ve already seen that InterServer provides more resources in its Standard shared hosting plan compared to Bluehost’s Basic plan, the differences in features are just as significant. InterServer delivers a richer feature set at a fraction of the cost.
For example, InterServer provides free website migration, while Bluehost requires a significant fee for the same service.
If you’re building a website from scratch, InterServer includes the SitePad website builder, which requires no coding knowledge. It features over 300 responsive themes and a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor. Bluehost, on the other hand, preinstalls WordPress on your account but doesn’t offer an alternative website builder.
While InterServer doesn’t provide managed WordPress hosting, you can easily install WordPress using Softaculous, a free one-click installer included with the Standard plan. InterServer supports over 300 scripts, allowing you to quickly install popular CMS platforms and plugins.
Bluehost includes a free domain for one year with all annual plans, but this doesn’t measure up to the value-packed features of InterServer’s Standard plan.
In terms of features and resources, Bluehost’s top-tier Pro plan is the only option comparable to InterServer’s Standard plan, yet it costs four times as much after renewal.
For a detailed comparison of features between the two hosts, refer to the table below.
| Feature | InterServer | Bluehost |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting Types | Shared, VPS, dedicated server, reseller | Shared, managed WordPress, VPS, dedicated server, reseller |
| Free Domain | No | Yes, for one year |
| Free SSL Certificate | Yes | Yes |
| Disk Space | Unlimited | 50GB on the Basic plan, unlimited on more expensive plans |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Automatic Backups | Yes (weekly) | Yes, but these are “courtesy” backups (not guaranteed) |
| Control Panel | cPanel | cPanel |
| Email Accounts | Unlimited | 5 accounts on the Basic plan, unlimited on more expensive plans |
| Free CDN | Yes | Yes |
| Free Site migration | Yes | No |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 Days |
| Price Lock Guarantee | Yes, no price hikes on renewal | No, renewal prices are higher |
| Shared Hosting | Unlimited storage, bandwidth, and email | Free domain for 1 year, storage varies by plan |
| WordPress Integration | Supported but not specialized | Officially recommended by WordPress, optimized performance |
| Migration Services | Free migration for new users | Free for WordPress, paid for other sites |
3. Performance
InterServer Delivers Speed and Reliability, While Bluehost Falls Short
When it comes to your website, visitors care most about speed and uptime. In this comparison, InterServer is the more dependable choice for both.
Both InterServer and Bluehost feature SSD storage on all plans, except for dedicated servers, where an additional fee is required to upgrade from standard HDDs. Additionally, both hosts integrate Cloudflare CDN into their dashboards for easy setup.
However, the key performance difference lies in server technology. InterServer uses LiteSpeed server technology with built-in caching, offering significantly better speed and reliability than Bluehost’s Apache servers.
It’s also important to note that Bluehost has faced criticism for overcrowding its servers, which can negatively impact performance across all accounts. In contrast, InterServer uses only 50% of its server resources, ensuring that resource hogs won’t slow you down.
InterServer’s four data centers are based in New Jersey, which means excellent speeds for visitors in North America. However, users in India, Asia, and Australia may experience slower load times. Bluehost’s data center is also located in the US, but the company does not disclose its exact location, which raises some questions.
In terms of uptime, InterServer guarantees at least 99.9% uptime, with compensation if downtime exceeds 0.1% in a given month. Bluehost, however, offers no uptime guarantees or compensation for extended outages.
InterServer earned nearly perfect results in our performance tests—read our full review for more insights. Bluehost, in contrast, scored poorly, which could significantly affect your website’s performance. For more on this, read our comprehensive Bluehost review.
4. Ease of Use
InterServer:
cPanel Access: InterServer uses the standard cPanel, which is widely known and easy to navigate for users with basic hosting experience.
Customizable Plans: While flexible, InterServer’s VPS and dedicated hosting require more technical knowledge to configure, which may be challenging for beginners.
User Interface: The interface is simple and straightforward but less modern compared to competitors, which might feel outdated for some users.
Bluehost Ease of Use:
Custom Control Panel: Bluehost offers a user-friendly custom control panel, designed for beginners, with a clean and easy navigation experience.
WordPress Optimization: Easy one-click WordPress installations and seamless integration make it the go-to choice for WordPress users.
Support and Documentation: Bluehost provides extensive documentation, tutorials, and 24/7 support, making it very accessible for users with little technical experience.
Hosting Provided by InterServer vs Bluehost
What Our Customers Have To Say
InterServer Customer Feedback:
Affordable Pricing: Customers like the transparent, low-cost plans with no surprise renewal hikes.
Reliable Performance: Users praise uptime and fast load speeds, especially on shared hosting.
Support: Support is available 24/7, though response times vary.
Migration Service: Free website migration is a popular feature.
Customizable Hosting: VPS and dedicated hosting options are flexible and ideal for growth.
Bluehost Customer Feedback:
User-Friendly: The easy-to-use interface is great for beginners, especially with WordPress.
WordPress Integration: Optimized performance for WordPress sites.
Support: Fast, helpful customer service with multiple contact options.
Scalability: Easy upgrades to higher hosting plans as websites grow.
Free Domain: Customers appreciate the free domain for the first year.
Advantage of InterServer and Bluehost
| InterServer | Bluehost |
|---|---|
| Affordable, flat pricing with no renewal hikes | Low initial pricing, but renewals can be higher |
| Highly flexible with VPS and dedicated hosting | Easy upgrade options, particularly for WordPress |
| Offers a wider range of hosting types (Cloud, Reseller) | Strong focus on WordPress and WooCommerce hosting |
| Free website migration for all hosting plans | Free migration for WordPress sites, paid for others |
| 24/7 support via chat, phone, and email | 24/7 support with strong WordPress expertise |
Disadvantage of InterServer and Bluehost
| InterServer | Bluehost |
|---|---|
| Interface feels outdated, less modern compared to competitors | Custom control panel may not appeal to advanced users |
| Support response times can vary, with occasional delays | Some users report longer wait times during peak hours |
| No specialized features for WordPress users | WordPress optimization may not be as robust for non-WordPress sites |
| Requires more technical knowledge for advanced hosting setups | VPS plans can be more expensive compared to other providers |
| Limited scalability on lower-tier shared hosting plans | Some higher-tier features like backups are limited to certain plans |
5. Support
Neither Host Excels with Live Chat Support
Both Bluehost and InterServer offer 24/7 customer support via live chat and phone, with InterServer also providing email and support ticket options. However, after testing both, I found that neither performed exceptionally well with live chat.
InterServer’s support agent was direct and didn’t attempt to promote any unnecessary features. When I asked for a recommendation, Jose suggested the Standard shared hosting plan, which was more than sufficient for my basic landing page website.
InterServer Customer Support:
24/7 Availability: Support via live chat, phone, and email.
Varied Response Times: Response times may vary during high demand.
Technical Support: Strong support for VPS and dedicated hosting.
Migration Assistance: Free migration for new customers.
Knowledge Base: Helpful, but not as extensive as competitors.
Bluehost Customer Support:
24/7 Availability: Fast support via chat, phone, and email.
WordPress Expertise: Specialized support for WordPress users.
Knowledge Base: Extensive guides, especially for beginners.
Quick Response: Known for quick and helpful support.
Proactive Support: Offers guidance for scaling websites.
If you prefer handling issues on your own, both InterServer and Bluehost offer comprehensive knowledge bases filled with guides and tutorials. Bluehost also has an official YouTube channel with useful instructional videos.
6. Security
InterServer Provides Robust Security for Free, While Bluehost Charges for Add-Ons
Bluehost’s security falls short compared to InterServer’s. With Bluehost’s Basic shared hosting plan, you’re provided minimal protection against attacks. The free version of SiteLock included is a basic malware scanner that only checks five pages per month. To get a firewall, malware removal, and protection against DDoS attacks, you’ll need to purchase the premium SiteLock package.
In contrast, InterServer offers its proprietary security solution, InterShield, at no extra cost. InterShield includes an intelligent firewall powered by AI, a comprehensive malware and virus scanner, anti-spam software for emails, and protection against DDoS and brute force attacks. If your site gets compromised, InterServer will clean up any malware free of charge.
Bluehost also raises concerns with its backup policy. The provider treats backups as a “courtesy,” meaning users cannot rely on them for certain or timely backups, and Bluehost doesn’t take responsibility for data loss or corruption. To ensure dependable backups, Bluehost recommends purchasing the CodeGuard Basic add-on.
On the other hand, InterServer provides automated weekly backups as part of its service, offering more reliable and consistent data protection.
| Security Feature | InterServer | Bluehost |
|---|---|---|
| SSL Certificates | Free SSL certificates included with all plans | Free SSL certificate for all plans |
| DDoS Protection | Offers DDoS protection on higher-tier plans | Built-in DDoS protection across all plans |
| Firewall | Customizable firewall for VPS and dedicated hosting | Advanced security features with built-in firewall |
| Backup | Daily backups included on higher-tier plans | Automatic backups on higher-tier plans |
| Security Monitoring | 24/7 security monitoring available | Regular malware scanning and security monitoring |
Final Recommendations
| Security Feature | InterServer | Bluehost |
|---|---|---|
| Best for Budget-Conscious Users | Ideal for users looking for affordable, transparent pricing and flexible hosting plans | Best for users who need a low-cost start but can handle higher renewal prices |
| Best for WordPress Users | Offers WordPress hosting, but less optimized than Bluehost | Officially recommended by WordPress, highly optimized for WordPress websites |
| Best for Customization & Flexibility | Excellent for users needing customizable VPS and dedicated hosting options | Offers scalability, but customization is limited compared to InterServer |
| Best for Beginners | Good for basic hosting but may require some technical knowledge for advanced features | Highly user-friendly with great support, ideal for beginners |
| Best for Customer Support | 24/7 support available, but response times may vary | Excellent customer support with quick response times, especially for WordPress users |
Frequently Asked Questions
InterServer is generally more affordable with its flat pricing structure, starting at $2.50/month, and no price hikes upon renewal. Bluehost starts at $2.95/month but has higher renewal rates.
Yes, InterServer supports WordPress hosting, but it is not as optimized for it compared to Bluehost. Bluehost is officially recommended by WordPress and offers better performance and integration.
Both offer 24/7 support, but Bluehost is often praised for faster response times and WordPress-specific expertise. InterServer’s support is solid but can vary in speed.
Yes, InterServer provides free website migration for new users, regardless of the platform.
Yes, Bluehost includes a free domain for the first year with its hosting plans.
Yes, both InterServer and Bluehost allow easy upgrades to higher-tier plans as your website grows, though Bluehost offers more seamless upgrades for WordPress users.
Bluehost has more scalability options, especially for WordPress and WooCommerce sites, while InterServer excels in customizable VPS and dedicated hosting.
Yes, InterServer offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee, ensuring reliable performance.
Both offer strong security features, including SSL certificates, DDoS protection, and regular backups. Bluehost also provides malware scanning and proactive monitoring.
Bluehost is more beginner-friendly with its user-friendly custom control panel, easy WordPress integration, and extensive tutorials. InterServer’s cPanel is more standard but less intuitive for beginners.
Yes, both can handle eCommerce websites. Bluehost is especially good for WooCommerce hosting, while InterServer offers flexibility with its VPS and dedicated hosting for custom setups.
Yes, InterServer offers fully managed dedicated hosting, while Bluehost offers both managed and unmanaged options for VPS and dedicated hosting.
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